Expression of mGluR5 and Synaptophysin Genes after Injury to the Dorsal Hippocampus, Inflicted by Cainic Acid

Abstract

The expression of synaptophysin (vesicular protein) and mGluR5 (metabotropic glutamate receptor) genes was studied 3, 7, and 20 days after cainic acid injury of the dorsal hippocampal area in Wistar rats. The expression of both genes was characteristically reduced in the hippocampus. Twenty days after the exposure the expression of mGluR5 in this brain area reached the control level, while synaptophysin expression remained low. An opposite trend was observed in the frontal cortex: synaptophysin expression 20 days after exposure did not differ from the control, while mGluR5 expression was reduced. The peculiar time course of both genes' expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex indicates the involvement of the frontal cortex in mechanisms of functional recovery after hippocampal injuries.

Expression of Mitochondrial Uncoupling Protein UCP2 in the Brain of Rats after Hippocampal Injury Inflicted by Kainic Acid

“…With time the defects in animal behavior, caused by injection of this KA dose, are compensated for. In addition, microinjection of KA (0.2 μg) into the hippocampus stimulates mitochondrial functions in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex [1] and modulates the expression of metabotropic glutamate mGluR5 receptor and synaptophysin [2], which also attests to compensation for the disorders caused by neurotoxin. If UCP2 is a neuroprotector, the expression of its gene can be changed in hippocampal injury of this kind.…”